Instrument for opening sealed and other cans



S. D. LECOMPTE.

Instrument for Opening Fruit Cans.

Patented Sept. 19, 1865.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL D. LEOOMPTE, OF LEAVENTVORTH, KANSAS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 50,01 l, dated September 19, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL D. LEGOMPTE, of Leavenworth city, in the county of Leavenworth and State of Kansas, have invented a new and Improved Instrument for Opening Fruit and Other Sealed Cans; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enableothers skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in Which Figure 1 is a side view of the instrumentwith a part in section. Fig. 2 is a top view of the instrument.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

My invention consists in the construction of asimple and easily-operated instrument for opening that class of cans used for putting up fruits, preserves, oysters, &c., the same consisting of a bar provided with a suitable knife, which is adjustable, and one end pointed and bent in such a manner that a fulcrum will be provided in which to turn the instrument after the said end has been thrust through the top of the can, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others to understand my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents the bar or rod of the instrument, and it is provided with a suitable handle, U, and may be of any desired length. The end of the instrument is bent somewhatin the letters b c in Fig. 1. This enables the instrument to be thrust into thetop of the can in such manner that the part c, which is bent at right angles to the bar A, will be encircled by the edges of the hole made in the top of the can, thus insuring a good and sufficient bearing to enable the instrument to be operated.

Through the barA aslot, d, is made, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. In this slot there is fitted to slide the shank e ofa knife or cutter, B,\vhicl1 has a set-screw,f, on its upper end by which to secure the knife at any desired place along the slot (1. The knife is of such form that it can be readily forced down through the tin, and will cut the same as the instrument is moved round for the purpose.

From this brief description it will be seen that I provide a simple instrument for opening hermetically-sealed and other cans, and that it operates easily and satisfactorily.

I do notlimitmyself to the particular shaped knife B, as I have adopted various styles-for instance, some with the point of the knife extending out before the rod, and others straight, and others with the point behind the rod, &c., and they all possess peculiar advantages, not necessary here to mention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

An instrument for opening fruit and other sealed cans, constructed substantially as herein shown and described.

SAMUEL D. LEOOMPTE.

Witnesses:

MARK W. DELAHAY, E. H. GRUBER. 

